Joseph sohofield



UNrTED JOSEPH 'soHOEIELu 0E PHILADELBHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSLGNQR 'ro JAMES BEr'rs.

saaam'streoeea Speaaetinfaf Letters. Patent No.9, 5,844. dated. acroba- 1.0,A 148 'o all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH SoHorIELD, late of Bradford, England, but now of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, surgeon, have invented a new and useful Instrument for the Relief and Cure of Prolapsus Uteri, of which the following is a full and exact description, reference being had to t-he annexed drawings of the same, making part of this specification, in which the same let-ters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

, v The nature of my invention and improvement'consists, in constructing of porcelain or other suitable material, an artificial support for a prolapsed uterus, which will maintain it ina natural and easy position,l

without pain or injury, and without irritating or otherwise doing violence to the adjacent parts; and will effectually relieve its natural ligamental and membranous supports, which are in an enfeebled and relaxed state, of all duty, until they recover their usual healthy tone and contractibility in a suflicient degree to enable them to resume and maintain the performance of their appropriate functions.

Of all the different kinds of material which might be used in the construction of this apparatus, I prefer porcelain, because it is cheap, durable, and not liable to become incrusted or contract odor from use, and also feels smoother, cooler and less unpleasant to the wearer than other substances.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the supporter detached from the Straps and belts used to retain it in place. The part a is in the form of a polar segment of a hollow oblate spheroid, or shallow cup, with its concave side in which the uterus rests, placed uppermost. These hcups are made of various sizes to adapt them to dierent persons: from the bottom or convex side of the cup a stem b projects, which is about half an inch in diameter, and three inches long, and having on its end a transverse piece 0 about an inch and a lhalf long and half an inch wide, in whose projecting ends oblong holes or eyelets e e are made to receive the retaining straps. Of whatever material it may be made, the angles of the supporter must be rounded, and its entire surfacev made smooth and even, to prevent it from irritating those parts with which it may be in con- `fro1n the same cause.

tact. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the line a; of Fig. 1.A Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the supporter in connection with the straps and belts which retain it in the proper position. .z' and j are respectively the anterior and posterior straps; they are made of vulcanized india rubber, and passed half their length through the eyes e e in the end of the stem, their ends being connected with the suspender straps m m. 1nr m. which are attached in any way in which they can conveniently be lengthened or shortened, to the belt 0, which is buckled around the waist to hold the supporter firmly in the position in which it may be placed.

The cup of the supporter is introduced into, and moved forward to the upper part of the vagina, across which it extends, receiving the lower part of the uterus into its cavity, which rests there in all positions of the body without the least tendency'to slide out and slip down, as would necessarily be the case if the end of the supporter were semi-globular in its shape, with only a. small depression in its center. the edges of the cup to the sides of the vagina I deem to be of very great importance, because by that means the uterus is sov securely held up, and the danger of its falling down so completely removed, that the person Wearing it can sit, stand, or take any kind of exercise, as freely and with as muchimpunity as if no disease existed; and from the smallness of the stem of the supporter the vagina is not distended by it, so that neither irritation or inconvenience is experienced from `walking or other movements; and from the way in which the retaining straps and the supporter are arranged and connected, they require no adjustment, and offer no obstruction when occasion arises to pass the urine, or other excretions.

The expansion and contraction of the elastic straps i and j eiectually counteract the danger of displacing the supporter from a sudden change of the position of the body, and also prevent the bruises and unpleasant concussions which otherwise would arise These straps being likewise impervious to moisture admit of being washed, and kept as clean and free from odor, as the adjacent parts of the body.

Sometimes under peculiar circumstances the external uterine supporter might with This extension ofA advantage be combined with this, and in such oase, I should prefer to use that of Mrs. lfree from odor, without detaching them from 10 Betts, which I deem by far the best of that the body.

Class of instrument-s.

What I claim as my invention amdV desire to secure by Letters Patent is-- The combination of elastic retaining straps of india rubber, With the supporter, which straps being impervious to moisture, may be' Washed to keep them clean, wholesome, and

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in presence of two witnesses this fifth day of September A. D. 1847.

. JOSEPH SCHOFIELD.

Witnesses:

JoHN THOMPSON, JOSEPH MORRISON. 

